El año nuevo

Happy New Year, everybody! Let me wish you an awesome and successful year 2006! I appreciate you all mostly because you are understanding, you are supportive, and you are always by my side.　

新年、明けましておめでとうございます。旧年中は大変お世話になりました。皆様にとって2006年が素敵な年になりますよう、遠くから祈っております。私がこうやってボリビアに来ているのも、ひとえに皆様のお力添えやご理解があってこそです。今後とも変わりませぬご指導ご鞭撻のほどお願いいたしますね。本年もどうぞよろしくお願い申し上げます。
　
In Bolivia on the New Year at 12am, you have to eat 12 grapes making a wish in each one. After we toasted with red wine, we had baked greasy pork. People here tend to eat late at night for fiestas. I know this is a part of their culture, but I have to say this is NOT appropriate and NOT healthy, obviously. At the New Year’s night, people dance all night long and eat the second traditional meal, big spicy sausage wrapped with oily bread at 5 in the morning. What a lovely diet at the perfect time! Yea, that’s why I came here to revolutionize this country by showing the right food and healthy alimentations.

Me at the New Year? Disappointedly, I have a bad cold these days. I had a bad stomach, a fever, and an injection on my ass at a hospital. Today I was supposed to go to a nice restaurant to see a show of Bolivian dance and music with my host family. Instead, I had to stay in bed…*cry*